Michigan Vamp

My Old License Plate

Eccentric Night Owl

Quote from Blood Read

"An ambiguously coded figure, a source of both erotic anxiety and corrupt desire, the literary vampire is one of the most powerful archetypes bequeathed to us from the imagination of the nineteenth century."~ page 2 introduction to Blood Read: The Vampire as Metaphor in Contemporary Culture

Intellectual Vampire Quote

"If the vampire is an other, he or she was always a figure in whom one could find one's self...the despicable as well as the defiant, the shameful as well as the unashamed, the loathing of oddness as well as pride in it."~ Richard Dyer

Dr. Joseph Brenner, a twenty-two year old graduate of medical college, has a natural gift for treating hysteria, circa 1878. The only problem is none of his peers in Boston, Massachusetts will offer him an assistantship due to a supposed moral indiscretion on his part. Without obtaining an assistantship he cannot enter the medical field to build a reputation as a competent doctor. Or, so he believes.

The beautiful and affluent Ms. Mary Pyre, a twenty-six year old businesswoman, has heard whispers of Joseph's proficiency in treating the disease. She seeks Joseph out and hires him as the attending physician at her Women's Health and Revitalizing Spa. Though Joseph and Mary are attracted to each other, unfortunate circumstances make them keep their romantic feelings for one another at arm's length. It is only when he learns she needs his expertise to overcome her chronic sexual impotence toward men that their relationship has an opportunity to move forward.

"Thank you."
Ms. Mary Pyre accepted Dr. Brenner's proffered hand to exit the carriage after
him. Though she believed neither her hands nor face betrayed her potent
nervousness, she was certain without the corset constraining her waist the
butterflies wafting around inside her stomach would have already evolved into
soaring eagles. She wondered if Susan's nerves faired any better. Especially
after they had purposely stressed Dr. Brenner out to see how he would react
under pressure. Thankfully, he'd shown strength and resolve, so had passed the
test with flying colors. Now she wanted him to join their clinic more than
ever.

Without Dr. Brenner's
participation they would be relegated to the poor house alongside him within
six months due to their handing their money over to the same financial advisor
as he. It was a good thing he could no longer afford to promenade in high
society, else he'd probably know of their dire financial straits, and instead
of seeming magnanimous in offering a full-fledged partnership, she and Susan
would appear desperate, which in all truthfulness, they were.

"So what do you
think?" Mary asked once Dr. Brenner had assisted Susan in stepping from
the carriage and turned to appraise the
office.

"It looks very
nice," he replied.

Mary smiled, her eyes
running up the lily-lined gravel path to take in the bright yellow and white
color scheme of the early Victorian home. She thought Dr. Brenner would be
impressed once he realized how much thought they'd put into the practice. He'd
also then know exactly how high their ambitions soared.

In a statement: it was
their intention to regain every bit of societal standing they had lost by
getting the young doctor to provide patients with the maximum sexual
fulfillment possible in a setting not soon forgotten, and one definitely not to
be confused with an austere doctor's office. Within a month the practice should
be earning over a hundred and fifty dollars a day, providing Dr. Brenner signed
on and proved to be as talented as he and the rumors surrounding his natural
gift for pleasing women touted him to be.

"Where did you
study psychology?" Dr. Brenner asked.

The question startled
Mary. She hadn't expected it so soon. "Bravo, Dr. Brenner. I attended
Boston Women's College, class of '72. Susan roomed with me. We both earned
teaching degrees, but much to our chagrin, we found teaching dull and tiresome.
Please, what gave us away?"

"The color scheme
of the house; usually only a person having studied the emotional mechanics of
the human mind can grasp the importance of color when trying to make women more
susceptible to entering any unfamiliar establishment. I applaud you."

"Just wait until
you see the inside." A shiver of excitement raced up Mary's spine to
tickle the skin on the back of her neck. This was going better than she'd
hoped. The young doctor respected them as being intelligent women. Most men
didn't, especially the venerated doctors of Boston who believed medicine would
always be ruled by men, with no feminine opinions requested or required.
Indeed, she knew a thing or two about the haughtiness of the male-dominated
medical community and Dr. Brenner seemed like a breath of fresh air on a hot,
muggy day.

For a second time today
she noticed how handsome his physical features were, particularly, how his dark
blue eyes perfectly complemented the contours of his smooth, angular face and
abundance of curly black hair atop his head. She also liked the way his body
cut a fine figure in his tailored suit; his stomach appeared washboard flat and
in proportion to his slim hips and larger chest and shoulders. Though he wasn't
an overly large man, he was certainly a striking image of masculinity.

About the Author:

Edgy and provocative in his writings, Thomas Briar strives to exalt the virtues of love and lust in every erotic story he creates. To date, he's garnered eleven publishing contracts with three different publishers and has seven published books in the marketplace.

When he's not writing, he enjoys spending time with his wife, reading, taking long walks, and people watching. Yeah, he's always wondering what makes people do the things they do. He knows it's usually something hidden in plain sight. He just has to figure out what it is, much like the motivations of the characters in his stories.

Five Revelations from Thomas Briar

• I was once a very religious young man. The ladies in the church I attended wore their hair in buns and their dress-tails brushed against the hardwood floor. Considering the explicit sexual content in my books, who would ever suspect that I came from such an austere environment…right?

• At twenty-five years of age I discovered Zalman King's Red Shoe Diaries and Anais Nin. The course of my life was forever altered. However, due to my religious upbringing, I suffered quite the emotional dilemma: either reinvent myself into who I wanted to be or continue to live out my life in religious austerity. I honestly believe I made the right choice.

• My wife is the most fun I've ever had. And I suspect she always will be. I met her when I was twenty-two and she was nineteen. I knew I was going to marry her three weeks into our relationship but I waited eight months before I actually asked for her hand in marriage. We've been together twenty-one years. She's the love of my life.

• I'm no stranger to manual labor. My father put me to work at six years old. I chuckle now whenever I think back at how I considered it a travesty that my younger brother didn't have to start working until he was seven. My brother and I are still the best of friends all these many years later.

• I love writing erotica and erotic romance. Every time I publish a new story I feel like I'm doing exactly what I'm supposed to be doing with my life.